Shattered
by Tori-Colour-Bastia
Summary: For Khol, it all started out as a simple family vacation to England over Thanksgiving break. His cousin is acting stranger than usual and our hero finds himself possessed by the most feared murderer of all time. Full summary inside. LxLight and OCxOC yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_**Full summary: For Khol, it all started out as a simple family vacation to England over Thanksgiving break. His cousin is acting stranger than usual and our hero finds himself possessed by the most feared murderer of all time. Upon Khol's return to his hometown of Acton, Massachusetts, he finds himself caught up in the world of the paranormal. LxLight and OCxOC. Rated T for language and yaoi.**_

_**Hey guys, Tori here! If you're a returning fan of my work, welcome back and thanks so much for coming back! If it's your first time reading my work, thank you for checking it out.**_

_**So far, I have all the chapters of both this and the sequel done. As of now, I'm working on a mega crossover and an original work (that's not a poem) for Fictionpress. It's the same username: Tori-Color-Bastia.**_

**____****This takes place ten years after the plot of Death Note and follows the manga storyline, but an opposite timeline where the Death Note murders ended in 2001. Characters ages vary depending on whether or not said character counts the years they've been dead. Example: Light died at 26, but sometimes people will say that he's 36.**

_**So without further ado, I present Shattered, probably my favorite fanfiction I've written.**_

I stared blankly out the window of the bus, watching my hometown go by in splotches of green, grey, and blue. My vision was blurry because I had gone a while without blinking. The school day was boring and I was completely out of it. Two fingers slid into my vision and snapped against one another.

"Khol!" my friend attempted to snap me back into focus, calling my name and snapping in my face. For the record, my name is pronounced like "call," not any of this "coal" business, okay?

I blinked a few times, my vision swimming back to normal. My best friend, Kellan, sat beside me.

"Dude, your stop's coming up."

I nodded.

"You're not talking much are you?"

I shrugged. I didn't really feel like talking. What I needed was sleep, but if I fell asleep on Kellan, I'd never live it down. I swear, he's positively bent on proving that I am a homosexual.

"Stop's up!"

Kellan grabbed my backpack and flung me into the aisle. I landed on my hands and knees, starting to wonder why Kellan and I were friends in the first place. As I stepped off the bus, my foot hit a small grey rock. I started to kick it down the blue-grey road, heading home. The bus stop was only a little down the road from where I lived, but it was a good walk and backpack was heavy. I kicked the rock. I didn't have any homework, but Thanksgiving vacation started today. Finally, I caught sight of the cream-colored colonial that I lived in. I completely abandoned the pathway and walked down my lawn to the red door. I let myself in, being greeted by my mother, who greeted me with an envelope. I opened it up, taking out a slip of paper. I knew exactly what it was.

"Oh my God, we're going on vacation!" I asked, the plane ticket shaking in my exited palm.

My mom smiled. "Yup!"

"This is great! Where are we going?"

A ticket to anywhere was incredibly rare. After my father died, it was hard to get enough money for life's little luxuries.

"England, we'll be staying with Marta."

"What!"

The plane ticket fell out of my hands and drifted downwards onto the carpet.

Marta was my cousin. I hadn't seen her in a while. I guessed her to be about twenty-one now. She lived in a cottage in England after moving out of New York and was a professional weirdo. I was not keen on spending five days with her.

"We needed to stay with family to save money."

"I'll find something to do with my time."

I went up to my room and took out my laptop. It was the only thing I could think to do. I decided to do some research on Winchester, where Marta was living at the time. Apparently, Winchester was a cute little town nestled in the English country side. It was not only the old capital of England, there was an old cathedral that Marta lived near. I decided I had better check it out. It was pretty and I guess I could find something to do. Wasn't too far from London either...

I packed up my laptop in its carrying case and stowed it under the bed. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering what the Queen of Crazy had in store for us.

_**So, what do you think so far? I can't guarantee weekly updates (not after Cassandra. That was a nightmare to get up), but with much less homework (not counting Spanish. There's always a lot of Spanish) and only six weeks left of school, expect pretty frequent updates.**_

_**Feel free to check out my other stuff as the next update comes out.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_**I told you I'd be posting chapters every chance I got. My family seems completely bent on ruining Fanfiction for me by yelling at me to "get off your lazy ass and get some exercise!" (Paraphrasing of course, they never said ass.) I can't wait until summer so I can be free to basement dwell once more. :D**_

_**Anyway, here's chapter two!**_

I listened to my iPod as the taxi drove us down the stretch of road leading to Marta's house in Winchester.

I looked up from my game of Doodle Jump and out the window. The scenery was a perfect combination of rolling hills and old buildings that looked like it hadn't changed in a few hundred years. The taxi stopped in front if an old-fashioned cottage. I grabbed my duffle bag from the back of the taxi and my mom and I walked up to the door.

Marta answered the door. The first thing I noticed was her change in wardrobe. She wore a cami top with a long-sleeved sweaterette over it. Her tight jeans, high heels, and socks were all the same color: white. Her naturally blonde hair that was normally dyed black was now caramel and had grown down to her waist.

"Hey Khol, Aunt Amanda, welcome to Winchester," Marta greeted with a smile.

I stood stunned. Was this the same young woman who had just a few months ago dressed entirely in black from head to toe and cut herself? Even those scars had seemed to start to vanish.

I could tell my mom was thinking the same thing.

"Thank you for letting us stay here," my mom fumbled out in her stunned state.

After a few hours, my mon left to go shopping and I was home alone with Marta.

I had to ask her. There was no way my cousin Marta was the girl who stood before me right now. Why would a goth occultist emo suddenly move out here to the English country side and completely change her appearance?

"Hey Marta, why the sudden change in clothes?" I asked.

"I felt that in order to redeem myself, I had to extract myself from the stressful surroundings that drove me to such acts. Besides, He wouldn't like it."

"So it's for a guy?"

"One could say that. I shall explain more tomorrow night."

"Okay..."

I backed into the TV room and flopped down on the couch in front of the television. I aimlessly channel surfed until I found something to serve as background noise for my thoughts.

Marta was acting weird, even for herself. She'd always been real into occult stuff and lived less than a block away from a goth shop in NYC. Now she seemed like a robot. A fancy, intelligent-sounding, well-dressed robot, but still a robot. Honestly, it was really creepy and scary. Something was amiss and I intended to get to the bottom of it

_**Special thanks to Eric Cartman Forever, this story's first reviewer and follower. Love you!**_

_**Oh! And I'm also thinking of putting Shattered on TV Tropes. Any thoughts? Any trope suggestions?**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_**Sorry I didn't get to posting the new chapter until today! My computer was having some problems (first connecting to the internet, then opening Microsoft Word and saving the document.) Best thing to do when your computer is broken: Swear and call it a lazy bitch, hit it a couple times, then wait twenty four hours. Usually, the discipline will help it work tomorrow. I've decided to post two (2!) now that my internet is working!**_

I lay awake on the sofa I attempted to sleep on, staring up at the ceiling. I knew something was up with this town. While she was out shopping, mom explained that she saw more people with Marta's same hair color also wearing white. When she asked about these people, the locals just shrugged and said they had no idea who they were or why they dressed like that.

I rolled off the sofa to look out the window towards the chapel. Staring towards high street, I noticed a line of people in white hoods heading down to the chapel's cemetery. They looked like ghosts in the light of the red-tinged moon as they walked slowly in the night.

My curiosity peaked, I headed out the front door of the cottage. I didn't know Winchester all that well, but I assumed that if I followed the white-hooded figures and stuck to the backstreets, I'd be fine.

Originally, I had assumed that all those with white hoods were men, but upon closer examination, they were women and children as well. They all shared three features: an entirely white wardrobe, red contacts in their eyes, and hair dyed the same caramel color. I virtually screamed Marta's name in my mind. Was she among this group? What was this, anyhow? I stuck to the edge of the backstreets so no one would see me. They opened the lock of the ornate cemetery gate and slowly filed in and circled up around a large obelisk that matched their cloaks. I dove behind a ovular dappled grey headstone. I peaked above it, my brown eyes gently peaking over the top of the stone.

The white hood who had been leading the line took a shred if black fabric out from the folds of his cloak.

"Tonight!" the figure said in a male voice, "We raise our Lord from the grave."

He took out a lighter and turned his back towards the rest of the group and lit it on fire. The orange tongues illuminated the grave stone. At this angle, I was able to see the name of the one they called their lord, Light Yagami.

No sooner had I read this then the orange ball of flames started to rise from the ground. It took to the sky, eliminating the entire area. I ducked behind the grave stone, but something inside me said to run. Curiosity rooted my feet to the spot and I just stood there, completely exposed in the light like a sitting duck. My instincts were in hyper drive, but my legs wouldn't comply with their demands. I just stood there, staring at the ball of light as it rose and fell, barely inching towards me. It got smaller and fainter until it seemed to disappear into the night, replaced by the milky light of the full moon.

Thinking it was over, I started to think about heading back when a pain suddenly spread to my stomach. It felt like someone had kicked me in the gut. I fell back onto the dew-covered ground. As I tried to get up, I felt like someone was pinning me down. I tried to get myself free, but only my head would move. Breathing rapidly, I clenched my teeth and flailed my head from side to side attempting to free my limbs. As the pressure subsided, a fiery pain spread through every inch of my body.

I had to give in. I didn't care if they found me, I needed to scream.

The white hoods cane rushing over towards me like I expected them to. One of them screamed my name and knelt down next to me. She took off her hood to reveal my cousin's face, but with red eyes.

"Khol, did you follow me here?" Marta asked.

"I didn't know it was... you I just... was curious." I choked out. The pain still manifested itself in my throat.

"Khol, we need to go home. Now," Marta said, deadly serious. "Can you stand?"

I just barely stood up, swaying like a man who has been on a boat his whole life getting used to dry land. I barely made it down the cathedral avenue and fainted halfway down high street.

In my dream, I found myself in a hallway like one at the mall Kellan and I sometimes hung out at with our friends, with a boy on the far end of the hall near a wall. Something compelled me to walk towards that boy. I started to walk the other direction, but found myself staring at a wall. There was only one choice: to approach the stranger. I started as a walk in his direction. The more I walked towards him, the longer and narrower the hallways got. I jogged, ran, then broke out into a full sprint in the boy's direction. I blinked and found myself right close to the boy. He turned around, revealing what I can only describe as sheer perfection.

There was not a flaw on his face. His eyes were a beautiful warm caramel and his hair was the same ruddy caramel shade as Marta's. He looked at me, his eyes changing from caramel to blood red. I stepped back.

"Who-who are you?" I asked him.

He held my face in his left hand and gently lifted it up so our eyes met on the same level. I was a little uneasy, considering how close our lips were. The boy's lips parted into a smile.

"You're a smart boy. You'll figure it out soon enough."

With that, the boy faded away like the Cheshire cat.

_**So, what do you think? I'm always open to opinions on the story! For the record, this story will have 37 chapters and the sequel will have 25.**_

_**This is probably the story I'm most proud of because of all the concise characters I made, which has been a challenge for me in the past. I'm always looking to get better, so constructive criticism is much appreciated.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_**I told you I'd post two! Enjoy!**_

My eyes popped open. I looked around, finding myself on the sofa I tried to sleep on. At first, I thought all the events that happened last night were a dream and the boy I saw as well. That belief didn't last long, though. Marta sat on the couch beside me, red contacts still in her eyes.

"Marta, what happened last night?" I asked.

"About nineteen years ago, a boy by the name of Light Yagami started to kill criminals calling himself Kira. He promised prosperity for those who were loyal and stuck cruel justice upon sinners. Kira is our lord and savior and we have often attempted to bring him back to life. Last night, our leader attempted to resurrect Light's spirit into himself and we believe that the spirit of Kira now resides in you."

"So it's a cult! You think I've been possessed by the spirit of your cult leader!" I yelled.

"Cult is a very strong word, Khol..."

"But it is one, isn't it! I knew something was up, Marta! Get out of this before it hurts you!"

"Cousin, you do not understand. Kira is my savior. I believe that the only one who is getting hurt here is you," she said, pointing at me.

I shook my head. "No. If I were possessed, I think I'd know."

"Look, I am just looking out for your safety, Khol. If you do not like this, I can only apologize. I will be in my room if you are to need me, but remember, if you start hearing voices, do not hesitate to tell me."

I left the following note to my mom and Marta before waltzing out the cottage door and onto high street:

"Dear Marta and Mom,

Headed out to High Street. Be back by twelve o'clock. If not, wait half an hour, then call the police in case I got stuck in traffic. Taking my cell.

-Khol"

I stepped onto the cobblestone streets. It was a beautiful day, the only clouds in the sky resembling cotton balls and the sky itself the exact color of the marker. I walked down the street, taking care to notice that most of the shops were closed. It was only about nine.

My stomach growled reminding me that the last time I had eaten was dinner the night before. I decided to walk into a coffee shop.

The girl behind the counter was chomping away at a piece of mint gum and rubbing a ceramic tea cup with a white towel. The name tag on her white apron read "Shayna." I put some money on the table.

"Hey, could I have a black coffee, no cream, half a packet of sugar?" I asked.

She put down the tea cup, tossed some of her sabeline blonde hair behind her ear, and started brewing some of my coffee. Her back to me, I started to see that she had red highlights in her hair.

"Were you there last night?" the girl asked with a thick British accent.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

She craned her neck in my direction as the coffee poured. "Last night at the Raising of Kira. You were screaming on the ground. You're name was Cole, correct?"

I shook my head. "It's pronounced Khol."

I assumed she wasn't one of them. Her hair wasn't caramel and her outfit was very black and leather.

The coffee stopped pouring and she put the sugar in my cup and passed it to me.

"I actually like that name better. Cole's too normal for a boy like you."

"Are you one of them? The Kira worshipers, I mean." I asked.

Shayna shook her head. "I considered it when I first got a job here, but I decided against it. It's too weird. I believe they call themselves Kiraists."

I nodded, sipping my coffee and taking a seat at the counter. "Yeah, my cousin's one. I'm just staying here for the next four days."

"So, are you really possessed by Light?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I'd try to piss him off, get a voice out of him."

"How? What does he hate?"

"L."

"What?"

"L. He was the detective assigned to the case. They say he's buried in the cathedral graveyard. Maybe if you could find his grave you could piss him off and he'll say something."

"Thanks!"

I put the empty coffee cup on the counter and left the girl.

_**LOL! Shayna is actually based on my bestie Shayna. She's a member on DeviantART under the name sherickson12896x3. Check her stuff out because she's UBER TALENTED! I'm on Devi, too, but it's mostly for my sucky art. I'm Bobcat12345. Love and hearts to anyone who checks it out!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_**FYI: Anything italicized is thought, anything underlined came from Light. So if something looks **like this**, Light thought it.**_

_**I'm so glad I was able to post on a Friday! I have a TON of homework to do, so I might not be able to post later this weekend, but I promise, I'm posting these stories every chance I get.**_

_**For those of you who are wondering about my personal life, my parents MIGHT let me get a hedgehog. Their uber low-maitenece and SO KAWAII! AH! *Fangirl spasm***_

_**Anywho, enjoy the chapter!**_

I ran down to the cemetery, now energized with both my coffee and the information necessary to learn if I was possessed.

I headed down the avenue, barely weaving my small body through the iron bars of the gate. Something strange swelled up inside me as something dawned on me. I had walked into the Kiraists' adytum. I didn't belong here.

I looked to the left and saw the ovular headstone I had ducked behind last night. I crouched in front of it and read the name:

"L Lawliet"

It was written in gothic text. I gingerly traced the lettering and the carved strawberry in the corner. It was not fancy and didn't say the date of death, the year of birth, or the age. I wondered what he was like in life and if this had any connection to the L Shayna had told me about.

_I knew him, you know. And yes, he was the L_.

My eyes widened. I recognized the voice in my head, it was the same as the boy from my dream.

_Who are you!_ I thought, half screaming at the boy.

_I told you to figure it out. You already know the answer Khol._

The idea crossed my mind, sticking there for an instant. Kira. But I waved it away like an annoying fly. I was NOT possessed by a mass murderer. I wasn't a killer.

_How did you know him? This L guy._

The voice laughed. _How did I NOT know him. We were friends. I was his only friend, actually, and we were inseparable. We even slept in the same bed!_

_Did you do anything?_ I asked. I couldn't help it, he seemed to hear all my thoughts.

If he were in front of me, he would have taken that deep breath people seemed to take when remembering a tough part of their lives. _Once, before he died. The night before actually. It was hard to deal with his loss especially after what happened. I miss him. I wish I could see him, one last time-_

_Do you know if he really loved you or if he was just using you?_ I blurted internally. I really needed to control my thoughts.

_He'd never break my heart like that!_ the voice defended. If he were in front of me, he would have been trying hard not to strike me.

_If you are Kira, he may have been trying to get a confession out of you._ I blurted, trying to control my impulses again.

_Stop it! You don't understand what it's like to love someone you'll never be able to be with forever! By the time he told me, it was already too late!_ Now, he would be on the verge of tears.

I looked down at the grass._ I'm sorry. I didn't think he was such a sore subject for you. I'm Khol, Khol Kremen._

_My name is Light Yagami_. Tears were gone. He seemed to be calm again.

I jumped.

"Kira!" I screamed out loud.

_Look, it's not like what you think! I'm not evil, okay! I killed all those criminals ten years ago because I was trying to make a perfect world! I was trying to do the world some good. I didn't think it would end like this!_

"Get away from me!" I screamed, running away from the cemetery. I slipped through the gate, as if that would get rid of Light.

_**So, you like? Reviews would be much apriciated at this point. Gracias!**_

_**(See, all that Spanish homework comes in handy, eh?)**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_**OMK, there is something completely wrong with me. Ah! It's been so long since I did ANYTHING on fanfiction and it's been a really long time since I last posted! What have I been doing? Testing, studying my brains out, procrastinating, using black magic to curse my Spanish teacher, rolepalying with Honi-chan, writing To-Oh (which I've renamed Gifted Aegis), roleplaying with Juni-chan, and procrastinating. So, I'll make up for the weeks I missed an just post the next ten chapters. I'm sorry if this fills up your inbox, for those of you who subscribe to this fic. I love you all!**_

I flew through the doors and locked myself in the living room. I took out my laptop and opened Chrome. Among my most visited sites were gmail, Facebook, and Twitter. I opened up Google and typed "Kira Case" into the search bar. No relevant websites came up. I closed my laptop and sighed. This was tough.

I curled up on the sofa and fell asleep, making up for the Z's I lost the night before. I was really freaked and the best way for me to deal with it was sweet slumber. I started to dream after what felt like a few minutes.

I was in a dimly lot store with black walls and carpeting, but a white ceiling. The huge greyscale pictures on the wall showed men and women in minimal clothing. The air was heavy with the scent of overpriced cologne mingling with that of equally overpriced perfume. This time I was at the mall again, but in the Abercrombie Kellan drags me into sometimes. Light was there, too. He was wearing a uniform plastered with the store's logo and a name tag that read "Kira" worn on his chest like a military medal. His eyes were red like last night.

"Uh, Kira?" I asked, stumbling over the words.

"Yes?" he responded.

The venom in his voice made me jump a little.

"Why did you possess me?" I asked, glad I didn't stumble on any words.

"Because I want you."

I took a small step back, but large enough to get my message across.

"But why me? Why not the cult leader who worships you like a god?"

"Because I hate them."

"What?"

"I said I hate them! They're doing it all wrong! They don't worship me out of love or belief in what I stand for, but fear! Selfish fear of my power! And the leader is the worst! He actually charges people for this, you know! He says he's taking sacrifices in my name and then pockets the money! But with you, I have a chance to make a comeback. With you, I can reenter my beliefs into society. With you, I could finish what I started and take over the world!"

Kira was starting to scare me. Alarmed at his words I made a mad dash for the door, just to have the modern portcullis slam down in front of me. I turned back. Kira had started to move towards me. I was trapped.

"With you, I could start a new era! The era of Kira! A new world order that would loosen the bands of government everywhere so that I could take control," he continued, letting loose an evil laugh that echoed throughout the empty mall.

I turned to the halls, digging my fingers into the openings of the portcullis and screamed.

"Help! Someone please! Let me out! Anyone!"

My cries were unheard in the empty mall.

"You can't try to run from me, Khol Kremen! I am just as much a part of you as your hair, your race, your hobbies, your family! I am a part of you now! You can't hide from who you are, Kremen!"

Kira grabbed me and pinned my hand behind my back and started to twist it the wrong way. I screamed again.

"If you try to hide from me or defy me in any way again, you'll end up like Lawliet or Mihael Keehl! Is that what you wish? I will not hesitate to get rid of you if I have to! You can't hide from me, Khol! I am part of who you are!" Kira threatened.

After almost breaking my left arm, he shoved me on the ground. He got down too and slunk towards me.

"As long as I have you, I have power. And you can't get rid of me."

He grabbed the collar of my shirt. I tried to squirm out of his grip, but Kira was very strong. He stood up, lifting me up off the ground.

"I own you, Kremen, and don't you forget it!"

He flung me against the portcullis. I curled up into a ball against the closing gate as Light approached me again.

I woke with a start, my body aching from Kira's blows. What harmed me in these dreams hurt me in real life, too.

_**For those of you who have never been in an Abercrombie and Fitch, yes, there are actual pictures of scantily-clad men and women in a clothing store. What are they selling? The clothing they're censoring themselves with! Anyway, hope you like the chapter and expect nine more today! Yay!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I returned five days later, meaning I had missed two days of school. I walked onto the bus, taking my usual seat next Kellan in the far back.

"Did you enjoy your stay in Britain?" Kellan asked in an obviously fake British accent.

"It was okay. I had to stay with Marta, though," I complained.

"The weird one?" he asked.

I nodded as the bus screeched to a halt. A girl got on the bus. Her hair was only a few shades lighter than black and her long bangs covered exactly half of her right eye. Her eyes turned anywhere from caramel to black in the correct light. Her outfit consisted of tight light-washed jeans, Ugg boots that were mostly leather and a form-fitting top with the phrase "Viva la Coldplay" printed onto it. A white fleece was tied around her waste, most likely to shield her bare arms from the biting winter cold. She sat beside one if her friends, a green-eyed girl with chin-length brown hair of a slightly lighter shade. The two of them curled up on the seat around a comic book that was bound backwards.

"Speaking of weird, it's Tori and Sabra," Kellan mocked.

_Is this the same Kellan you remember? He seems like a jerk_. Light's voice came through my mind.

I almost jumped a little. The last five days he'd been so quiet I had almost forgotten he was there, but Kira still terrorized my nights.

Yeah, he's one of those guys that's mean to social rejects, but nice to his friends.

Tori, the darker-haired one, looked at the two of us with angry eyes and looked back.

I shoved him a little. "Dude!"

I looked closely at the manga she was reading. The letters of the title were sideways, so I wasn't able to read the title. "D-H NO-E" or something along those lines.

_**I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but we have two new characters! Yay~! For what it's worth: Tori is me and Sabra is Honi-chan. Yes, I'm egotistical enough to put a self-insert into yet another one of my fics. Don't judge.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I sat in my chair in English class, zoning out as the teacher drabbled on about the four different types of conflict. Tori sat on the other side of the classroom, looking at her friend's watch. She wasn't typically a clockstarer, but that day's English class had even bored her half to death. I notices the way she laughed when her neighbor said something weird and the way she got all dreamy-eyed when she looked at the window behind me.

_Wow, you really love her, don't you?_ Light asked, interrupting my staring.

I got defensive. I _do NOT love her! She's just not like other girls. I know a lot of girls who would rather read Twilight than that Japanese... thing she was reading on the bus_.

Light facepalmed. _Manga. It's called manga_, he muttered into his hand.

_Anyway, she's not like the girls Kellan dates. She isn't scared of what other people think of her. If you don't count the Uggs, not one article of clothing she wears is remotely conformist. Unlike her, whose image is not caring, I have to care. I have to dress like this. In order to keep Kellan as a friend, I have to keep my image up. And without Kellan, no one has any reason to like me. Popularity is fragile, Light. It's like that song about that horse and some sort of tree. "You're not the one for me."_

A warm smile seemed to come from Light. _Well, if you don't like her, you should at least know she's totally into you._

_What do you mean?_

Light laughed a little in my head. _She's been staring at you since the beginning of class! Think about it! Sure, you have the window excuse here, but what about math and Spanish? You don't sit anywhere near a window in either of those classes! Come on, Khol, talk to her after class!_

"Okay, class, please take out last night's homework on the four different types of antagonists," the English teacher interrupted me.

The entire class opened their binders and took out the sheet in question. I didn't have it, unfortunately, since I was already getting a D in English. I sighed.

"Alright, now who has an example of Individual vs. Individual?" the teacher asked.

Tori's hand flung up like anyone would think an honors student would.

"Tori, before your hand flies away," the English teacher joked, the entire class groaned on the inside. This was her absolute favorite joke.

"In order to preserve his ideals as justice, Light Yagami must-" Tori cut herself off. "In order to preserve his ideals as justice, Light Yagami must..." Her voice stopped again. "Sorry, it's kind of hard to say because I love L." She took a breath. "In order to preserve his ideals as justice, Light Yagami must killtheworld'sgreatestdetective,L."

The English teacher took a jump backwards. "You mean he dies!"

Tori looked up at the teacher for the first time. "Not necessarily, Light could fail."

"Hey, I remember L! You dressed up as him for that book report," one of my friends sitting across from Tori blurted.

"Is there any real good guy or bad guy in this story?" the teacher asked.

Tori shrugged. "It all depends on how you think of it."

"Sounds complicated."

"It is."

If Light were in front of me, his eyes would be the size of dish plates. _How. Did. She. Know?_

_I don't know. Apparently it had something to do with that book report thing we had to do._

The imaginary image of Light nodded_. If she knows my story, maybe she could figure out everything that's going on._

_That's genius! Light, you're right! That rhymed!_

I heard Light laugh in my head.

_**It's true, I am an honors student. I made the honor role 2/3 trimesters of last year! And one C+ kept me off the honor role during the first trimester. Also, this is based off something that actually happened to me in English class, choking up words and all.**_

_**Oh! And if you were wondering, the song Khol references is "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Turnstall. Check it out if you're curious.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I walked close to Tori's locker, being sure no one else was in the hall. Since Tori was a geek (her word, not mine), I would easily slink down the popularity pyramid just by talking to her. It's not that I care about my popularity, but Kellan does and if I slip up, so would he, meaning our friendship is screwed.

"Tori?"

I tapped her on the shoulder as she whirled around, looking me in the eyes with a bit of fear in her black ones.

"Yah?" she responded, more calm than I would expect from the look she gave me. This was the first time I actually talked to her at all.

"What were you talking about in English?"

"Oh, Death Note? It was the manga I read on the bus. I have the first volume here."

Tori opened up her locker and dig through a few bags until she came up with a very interesting book. It was bound backward with a cover featuring a younger-looking version of Light Yagami holding a scythe. The cover image followed the motif of a cross with a clown-looking creature in the background. Light smiled.

_This is it. That's definitely me and that is definitely the main plot of the case,_ Light remarked, looking at the manga.

I flipped to the back. This was definitely Light's story. I saw the words "Light Yagami, Kira, and kill," and that was just scanning it.

"Thanks, this looks cool. I'll read it," I smiled, tucking the comic into my binder.

I proceeded down the hall to the classroom set aside for study hall. The teacher that runs it was never in the room, so we were free to do whatever it was we wanted. I walked in, binder, comic book, iPod and notebook at the ready.

As usual, the teacher was no where to be found. None of my friends were in study hall with me, so most of the time I listened to my iPod. Today was different, though. I'd still listen to my iPod, but this time I'd actually be reading something. I sat down at a desk, opening the manga up and reading it.

The story made no sense and the dialogue all felt a little off.

_I don't get this!_ I thought.

_Khol, you have to read the speech bubbles and panels from right to left, too. Japanese is read backward._

I reread the last two chapters, which started to make sense to me.

_Why didn't you tell me you were a child genius! You're, like, the boy every teen wants to be! Good-looking, smart, and popular with both boys and girls! If you weren't gay, you'd have no reason for society to hate you!_ I thought as Light's character was introduced.

_Now you see why I never told anyone. If the media found out I slept with L, it would be all over this manga._

I read it as L's character was introduced. A part me wondered why Light would love such a strange guy with such passion and emotion.

_Why would they publish this manga if it's based on true events?_ I though as the question flew into my head.

_I've been thinking about that. My theory is that the government doesn't want people to know that the Kira Case exists, so I believe the point of this manga was so black notebooks labeled Death Note wouldn't make people freak out and also so anyone who heard about it would think it was pure fiction._

_Why would they want to do that?_

_So Kira won't cause an uproar again. Fear is power, Khol. You should remember that._

I continued reading as the first volume blew by. I sat there listening to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem, as Light explained to me how to-the-dot accurate the entire manga was. I needed to get a word in with Tori. If she knew the manga as well as she said she did, she could be a very important member of our team.

_**With this, our friend Khol learns how to be an otaku. :D I can't say much else other than stick around~**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I curled up in bed after taking a nice long shower and putting on sweatpants I bought at American Eagle. It was a warm night for New England in November and I was tired, so I didn't bother to put on a shirt. I wrapped some down blankets over my thin body, placed my head on the pillow, and closed my brown eyes.

I started to drift into slumber as my dream materialized in front of me. I was at the mall again, the food court to be precise. The only stand that had the lights on was the sushi stand I went to when I was hungry. The boy behind the counter was wearing a uniform complete with apron and name tag, which read "Kira." I had gotten used to these dreams, as I had them every night. I tensed up. Sometimes he didn't hurt me, just got me to give him control.

I sat at the counter, half prepared to run away.

"Boy!" Kira screamed.

I didn't look up. He grabbed my face, his long fingernail sending shots of pain through my face. When he let go, I felt little warn trickles of blood stream down my cheeks. Kira ran his fingers across my wounds and licked my blood off of them.

"Look at me when I talk to you!" he said as soon as my blood was gone.

"Kira, go away! I never gave you any permission to be here."

Kira laughed and shoved me down. He hopped to the other side of the counter.

"I don't need permission to be here. I'm God!"

He pulled off my shirt and took a knife from his belt. He placed one biker boot on my chest to keep from my moving, even though I was pinned down with fear. He used the knife to carve some sort of symbol into my chest before using the boot to kick me in the nose.

I attempted to straighten up as he ran his hand over the wound he created and licked it clean of my blood again. I backed away again, flying down the hall and locking myself in the bathroom near Macy's. I curled up in the handicap cell as my alarm rang out and woke me up.

I tossed my sheets over my head to discover what he had carved into my chest:

Kira

Written in Gothic print.

_**This has got to be one of my favorite chapters. Ever. Writing Kira's cruelty is so fun! I sound like a sadist -_- What I've noticed is the more I love a character, the more painful their existence generally is. It's sad, I know.**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Our school's anime club meets biweekly per order by the teacher who was nice enough to run it. He knows absolutely nothing about anime and they never watch anything, just talk and laugh. They say if you walk past Mr. D's room after school and don't understand the flow of the conversation, you are normal. I had decided the best way to converse with Tori without Kellan or any of my friends knowing would be after school during aforementioned club.

_What am I doing here?_ I thought to Light as I opened the door slowly and stepped into the Social Studies room.

_Come on, if you're going to talk to Tori, this is the best time and place_, Light encouraged.

I waved his voice away like a buzzing fly as I stepped past the threshold. As the door opened a burst of conversation came in:

"Holy crap, I have the same picture on my phone!" squealed one of Tori's friends as she showed them a picture on her iPhone.

"I know right? MxM for the win!" Tori laughed.

"I'm really more LxL myself," a tenth-grader put in.

"Dude, LxL goes without saying. It is the TamaHaru or AmericaxEngland of the Death Note fandom! Basically, if you don't like it, begone from the fandom," Tori commented.

I grabbed her shoulder. "Hey, Tori, got a minute? Meet me outside the gym bathrooms, kay?"

This got a nod from Tori as I slunk out of the room.

I had no idea how to explain everything to her, but I had to try. I heard the sound of Tori's boots clunking down the hall. I tensed up.

Tori leaned against the wall and looked me in the eyes. "You wanted to talk?"

"Look, Tori, there's something I need to tell you," I started, taking a breath.

"What is it?" she asked.

"That manga you've been reading, Death Note?"

"Yeah?"

"When I was in Winchester over Thanksgiving break, I had to stay with my cousin Marta, who's Kiraist. While I was there, I got caught up in some of their activity and... I've been possessed by Light."

Tori looked at me closely. "What kind of fool do you take me for? I'm used to idiots like you thinking you're better than my friends and me because you wear different clothes or don't watch anime! I've been bullied before, Khol-kun! Watashi wa bakade wa nai yo![1]" she spat on the floor between us.

I felt Light start to take control.

_What are you doing?_ I though at him.

_I'm good with women. Just trust me._

I gave Light the ability to talk through me.

"Tori Bastia, I do not think you are an idiot. This is why I had Khol entrust this knowledge with you."

Tori started to giggle.

"Tori, I'm being sincere. Why are you laughing?"

"Sorry, Tamaki, I thought for a second there you were going to call me Princess. Khol-kun, anata wa bakadesu.[2]"

"Tori, believe me! If you won't believe me when I'm talking straight to you, then maybe you'll believe the damage."

Light pulled up my shirt and showed her where Kira had carved his name into my chest. Tori looked at it, licking her thumb and attempting to smudge it.

"Ow! That just happened last night!" I called, temporarily breaking Light's control.

"That's definitely not marker. And considering your pain and the fact that you understood my Japanese, I guess I have no choice but to believe you."

Light smiled and backed off his control.

"So, you'll help me?" I asked.

"Totally. What do you need to know?"

"How to get this thing out of me! Every night I have to suffer through his torment as he slowly takes over me! And then during the day, it's like he's a totally different person!"

Tori thought for a moment. "Like a different person? Would you say like a split personality?"

I thought for a second and nodded.

"There's a theory in the fandom that Kitsune-senpai has Dissociative Identity Disorder and that Kira's his alter."

_Kitsune-senpai?_ I thought.

_Kitsune is Japanese for fox and senapi means an upperclassman._

_But why fox?_

_Because I became God,_ Light chuckled, exchanging some sort of inside joke with himself.

"What do you mean by that?"

"When Kira is abusing you, is it something you think the Kitsune-senpai that you know would do?"

"No! During the day, Light seems really nice. At night, he's got red eyes and he's always wearing a name tag with Kira on it."

"That's what these dreams are trying to tell you!"

I blinked. In six seconds, Tori put together a working theory for something I wouldn't have even thought of. "That was amazing. How did you do that?"

Tori shrugged. "Fandom, I guess. Oh! And BT Dubz, you should start calling me Color-chan now."

I nodded. "But what will Kellan think when he sees the two of us together and hanging out a ton?"

"I have a plan."

She leaned in and whispered the most amazing plan I had even heard into my ear. Even Light seemed pretty impressed.

_**The conversation that takes place during the anime club is (surprise, surprise) based on an actual conversation I had during anime club. *Sarcastic gasp* Also, the song I reference in here is "Violet Hill" by Coldplay and the line is "And the fox became God." It's a great song and one of my personal favorites, so check it out, por favor.**_

_**Japanese translations:**_

_**[1] I am not a fool**_  
_**[2] Khol, you are stupid**_

_**Notes on Color's Japanese:**_

_**Color speaks in Japanese when other underestimate her, insult her or a close friend, or when she gets excited.**_

_**Color uses the honorfix -kun when talking about Khol because she looks down on him and thinks him to be of inferior intelligence. She uses -senpai when talking about Light because she owes him the respect she'd give a highschooler and knows he is of higher intelligence. She doesn't use an honorfix when talking to and about Kira because she thinks him to be just a personality. I'll go into details on other honorfixes used by Color as more characters get introduced.**_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I sat at lunch, chewing away at my turkey sandwich I had bought from the school cafeteria. I guessed it to be about a week old, although the bread was crusty and the turkey was a little rubbery, even when it was fresh. I sat at my usual table, surrounded by some of my friends. I considered myself to have a lot, as the table was overcrowded and we often had the lunch ladies yelling at is for pulling up extra chairs. The usual topic of conversation: girls. Who's dating whom, who likes whom, that sort of thing. You may call it a girl thing, but I assure you, my town is weird like that. If you don't believe me now, wait until you hear the rest of this story.

I looked up from my sandwich to see what they were talking about.

My friend Stephen was talking about his crush. Since he was to the left of me, I would be the next victim of their insanity.

"So, Khol, who's your girl?" Kellan asked.

I wondered why he always had to lead me into this conversation.

"Dude, I'm not telling you. It's embarrassing."

"Come on, please! We're your bros."

"Okay fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. I have a crush on Tori Bastia."

The entire table burst into laughter. It seemed to me that Kellan was laughing the hardest. I've never wanted to hit my best friend before, but today I felt the anger well up inside of me. I was ready to raise my fist.

Khol, don't do it. This is how Kira gets a hold on you. Whatever you do, don't give in. This is how he gets you and once he takes control, it's the the worst hangover you will ever have. I spent ten years trying to piece together my past and you shouldn't have to do the same, Light advised

I took a deep breath in as an attempt to calm myself down.

"Dude! What do you see in her?" Kellan asked, barely audible over the laughter of the other boys.

"I told you it was embarrassing."

"You should go talk to her, Khol," he laughed.

Kellan shoved me out of my seat and over towards Tori's table, where she, Sabra, and a few other anime club members were laughing about something we didn't hear and probably wouldn't understand.

I nervously bit my lip.

"Hey, uh, Tori, um, do you wanna go out with me?" I stuttered.

Tori made a face. "Did you get zapped or something?"

Zap was a game where a friend wrote a time and a name on your hand. If you looked at the name before the allotted time, you had to ask that person out. It was often used so people would ask out the nobodies. I imagined Color as a common target do to her enthusiastic love of Japanese cartoons. In other words, she was a geek.

I shook my head.

She gave me a warm smile of perfect teeth that had been locked in braces for two years.

"Okay then. I'll call you."

I took a seat next to her and attempted to understand the incredibly geeky conversation she and her friends were having.

_Exactly as planned_, Light's voice said proudly in my head.

_**Light gets to use his catchphrase! Yay! Anyway, for once, the school scene in this chapter wasn't inspired by anything… except Kellan's douchey character. He's a dick, but I must love him. XD**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Alright, I should explain Color's plan to you before I continue:

In order for the two of us hanging out together not to look suspicious, we needed a reason. A project wouldn't be good enough if we needed it long term. It also didn't help that all my friends were in our wing and therefore had the same classes as us. They'd see right through it. Two people who wouldn't be caught dead together working on a fictitious project; they'd automatically assume we were in love.

So why not play their sense of drama against them? Why not stage a romantic relationship when, in reality, we were working to get a sadistic psychopath out of my head.

That was Color's plan. And she had cooked the entire thing up in half the time it normally takes me to microwave dinner.

Even Light had to admit it was impressive. There was only one downside:

We needed to go on some form of date every week so the rest of the world would actually think we were in a relationship. It wasn't that bad. Like Light pointed out earlier, I really like Color as a friend, and it would be nice to go out with her, even if it was fake.

So naturally, I brought up Color the next day at lunch and it all went exactly as planned.

_**This one's too short for me to put my two cents in.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

My mom was out on a week-long hike and wouldn't be home until the following Saturday. It was the beginning of the weekend and she had just left. I was checking my email on my laptop when I heard a knock on the door. I popped off my bed and ran downstairs, not taking the time to close my email. I opened the crimson door to an extremely excited Color, who was holding a large box in her arms.

That day, Color's outfit consisted of a hoodie with cat ears attached at the top and a tail at the back, which stayed unzipped to reveal a Death Note tee with L on it. It was a men's top that Color had turned into a single-shoulder by cutting the neckline. Under this was a dark purple cami that shone through the white fabric of the tee. My guess was she wore the one shoulder initially and threw the cat hoodie over it. Her bottom half was as usual: faded skinny jeans and her black Uggs.

"What's with the box?" I asked.

My faux girlfriend shrugged. "Dunno, found it on your doorstep. It's from Marta Annacox, you know her? It also says 'Feel free to open before Christmas.'"

"Marta's my Kiraist cousin," I explained, grabbing her hand and leading her up to my bedroom.

I grabbed a knife and opened the box, digging my fingers under the cardboard flaps and opening up the box.

Inside was a boxed set of twelve volumes of the manga Death Note. A top this box set was a note that read:

"Dear Khol,

Thought I'd give you something fun to read over Christmas break.

-Marta"

"I guess she didn't think Khol would have access a live Death Note encyclopedia," Light commented out loud.

"You mean DN Volume 13, correct?" Color asked.

Light let a slight laugh loose.

"Anyway, I think I figured something out."

Color pulled a piece of paper off my desk and grabbed a pencil.

"So, here's what we know, you-" Color sketched a stick figure on the paper, "-have been possessed by both Kira-" Color another stick figure "-and Kitsune-senpai." Color drew yet another stick figure. She connected the Kira stick figure to my stick figure with an arrow and labeled it 'Possession.' She did the same for me to Light. "We also believe that Light and Kira are two separate personalities." She drew an arrow between Light and Kira's stick figures and labeled it 'D.I.D.' "I started to think what Kira would gain from possessing you and the most logical thing one can assume is that he wants to come back to power. To do this he needs the Death Note." Color drew a rectangle and drew an arrow from Kira to it, labeling this one 'Need.' "You may notice these arrows show a flow of energy like a food chain. You can consider the Death Note the producer, Kira the primary consumer, Light the secondary consumer, and you the top carnivore. My theory is that if we get rid of the Death Note-" Color crossed out the rectangle." that renders Kira useless. Kira hates uselessness and this would create a paradox. The world hates paradoxes and would force Kira out of existence." Color crossed out Kira's stick figure. "The only connection left is between you and Light. I assume Light is not content with his current situation and the only thing keeping him in your body is your connection to Kira. Am I correct?"

Light made me nod.

"That means, with Kira and the Death Note gone, Light can be free to leave you and go wherever the dead go when they leave Earth."

"I don't get it," I commented.

"Are you really that much of a bakka that you don't understand things when I lay them down in front of you?"

"I understand most of it, but how does destroying the Death Note get rid of Kira? And how does getting rid of Kira get rid of Light?"

"Alright, Kira hates two things: evil and uselessness. As I said before without the Death Note Kira is rendered useless. Do you follow?"

I nodded.

"Now, one thing I've noticed is that the world hates paradoxes. Why do you think we haven't invented time travel? Or teleportation? The ability to walk through walls? The answer is: creating these powers would complicate nature and nature hates complication. The most common form of complication is a paradox and Kira's paradox goes like so: Kira believes that all useless people should die. Without the Death Note, Kira is useless, therefore he must die. If Kira dies, then no one will be there to ensure that useless people die, so he will not die. But if he doesn't die, then he is useless and therefore should die. And so on and so fourth. To stop such complications, the universe would make Kira cease to exist. And even if he doesn't disappear, if we destroy the Death Note, it'll be one less thing to worry about," Color explained.

"But what about Light?"

"Since Light and Kira shared one body in life, they're still bound by an astral chord. Since Kira was in control in life, he's currently in control of where they go. Since Kira refuses to leave, Light's trapped here. Am I correct?"

"Yes," Light agreed.

"If Kira is gone, then Light should be free to go."

"Sounds like a good plan. Quick question, though. Do you know where it is?"

"Know where what is?"

"The Death Note. Where is it?"

"My guess would be..." Color sat back on my bed and closed her eyes. "In Near's apartment in Los Angeles."

"How will we get it?" I asked.

"Dunno. It's not like we could just walk up to him and ask about the Death Note and it's not like we know where he is."

I shrugged. "Well, we should probably go on a mock date or something like that."

Color nodded. "Yeah, after that show we put on, we really should follow through with it. You know anywhere good?"

"How 'bout Starbucks? That's pretty popular."

"I'm indifferent either way."

_**Here, we have a short explanation as to how we stop the possession. One of my favorite chapters is up next, so stay tuned! :D**_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_**Warning: This chapter also contains Japanese translated by Google Translate. Because of its questionable accuracy, those who are fluent in Japanese may wish to slit their wrists out due to errors. You have been warned. Tori-Color-Bastia and cannot be held accountable for any injury or self-destruction if you choose to do so.**_

I pulled the double doors open to allow entrance into Starbucks. Color followed behind me, slowly because it seemed she had seldom been in here before. We had put on quite a show on the way here, pretending to make small talk. At this point, we were laughing at a joke others weren't meant to get.

I held the door for her, letting a cold Actonian chill into the store. I went up to the counter, asking the boy behind it for a large peppermint mocha frappuccino. He nodded and started to brew the drink. Color sat in a booth alone looking at something on her iPhone.

I took a seat across from her as the door opened, letting in such a strong smell of Axe it must have been sickening to Color, but I was used to it. Kellan walked through the door, the wind hitting our faces.

The boy behind the counter placed the blended coffee drink on the counter. Color got up to get it. As she walked over to the frappuccino, I saw Kellan start to step over towards her.

_Oh crap no!_ I thought to myself.

I willed Kellan to not go any closer to her, but the effort proved futile.

"_Why are you so worried, Khol?_" Light asked.

_Look, Kellan hates otakus. You can almost see it in his eyes. He's pissed off with a capital P that I'm hanging with Color-chan instead of him. I'm pretty sure you can guess what'll happen next._

The imaginary image I constantly kept of Light blinked twice and looked over at Color and Kellan.

"Hey Bastia!"

Color whirled around, festive holiday drink in her right hand. "What is it Kellan?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Getting a holiday-themed coffee drink to share with my boyfriend."

You could almost see the electric tensions in the air. "Boyfriend" was Kellan's trigger word. She had just her own grave.

"You don't belong with him! He's too hot for you! He's my friend, not one of your Japanese fantasy boys! How do you even watch that crap!"

Color took a sip from our frappuccino. "How do you watch sports shows without fainting from the stupidity?"

"He doesn't want you anyway! You're just another girl to him! He's had a lot, and trust me, I'd know."

"A part of me finds that hard to believe."

My brown-haired best friend gritted his teeth and shouted, "I don't get what he sees in you! All you do is sit in a basement watching Japanese cartoons and then all talk about is that damn Hetalia shit! Anime is a joke and all you are is a fucking slave to it! You think you're so cool when, in reality, you're just another geek."

Something snapped in Color's mind and her entire expression changed from eerily calm to explicitly angry.

"Oh, I'm the slave! Who's the one who spends thousands of dollars a year on clothes from Pac Sun, Abercrombie, Aero, and American Eagle and flounce them around the entire school just to make themselves feel cool? Certainly not this slave. Who spends even more money on fucking Axe deodorant, which smells rancid, because they think people will like them more? Certainly not this girl. Who's the one who had a Bieber cut for all of last year just so he would get a hot date to the dance? Certainly not this otaku!"

In her anger, she landed a roundhouse kick to Kellan's cheek, leaving a red bootprint on his flesh.

"I'm sick of this!" Color continued, "I'm sick of people like you thinking you're better than otakus like Honi-chan and I just because you wear different clothes and have different interests than us! Kono baka! Kono rokudenashi! Anata wa, nani mo hadena o o motsu jittaringu risuda na i![1]"

Light snickered a little, but snapped himself out of it. _Khol, you should go break up that fight._

I stood between the geek and my best friend. I turned to my mock girlfriend. "Color-chan, I'll go meet you outside."

The brunette nodded, opening the door and sitting at the cafe table outside.

"Kellan, what happened? I've never seen spit fire at anyone like that. I mean, I've seen you get pretty pissed, but this is worse than I've ever seen you! What's gotten into you?"

Kellan looked at me, cadet blue eyes sad. "You'd never believe me if I told you."

"I'm sorry, we'll talk tomorrow, my frappuccino's melting."

Kellan nodded. "Kay, I'll call you."

My best friend opened the door, letting me through as the cold almost-winter air slapped our faces. I went to talk with Color as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Something's up with Kellan. I just talked to him and I'm almost positive he's hiding something."

Color nodded. "Kellan-kun is acting very strangely, even for Kellan-kun."

I nodded, sucking lightly on the straw. "I'll do some reconnaissance when I have him over tomorrow. Even if you feel the need, don't come over."

Color nodded. "I get it."

_**I think after reading Color's argument with Kellan, you understand why this is one of my favorite chapters. She sticks it to conformity and calls Kellan a jittering squirrel!**_

_**Japanese translations:**_

_**[1] You idiot! You bastard! You are nothing but a jittering squirrel with a fancy tail!**_

_**Note on Color's Japanese:**_

_**Color calls Kellan by the honorfix -kun because she thinks of him as even more inferior than Khol because of his cocky ego to support his stupidity. She does NOT mean as a close friend or relative.**_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_**Wow, eleven chapters in two days! I'm so nice to you guys! Enjoy~**_

I sat on the sofa in the family room with my feet up on the table. It was a Sunday afternoon and I just sat around in grunge playing Modern Warfare 3 on my Wii. I was about to pwn a few n00bs in team death match when I heard a knock at the door.

"Khol! It's me!" Kellan's voice called from the other side.

I paused my game and walked over to the door. Peering through the window, I saw the familiar pale boy. Kellan's blue-grey eyes looked weary and had rings under them from what I guessed to be lack of sleep. His short brown hair was a mess, like he had rushed to get ready. He was still wearing the grey sweat pants and sweatshirt from American Eagle that he often slept in during the winter and fall. Recognizing him instantly, I opened the door and escorted him in.

"Hey Kell. What's up?" I greeted.

Kellan put a hand on my shoulder. "Look, Khol, I've been wanting to tell you this for a little bit, so I guess I should admit it. I'm-" His voice froze. Kellan's eyes widened. "I can't even say it!" He took a breath. "I think I-" His voice stopped again. "If I can't say it, I may as well just leave."

Kellan turned back, but I tried to stop him. "Kellan!" I grabbed his hood to keep him from continuing. "Kell, you can tell me anything and I promise, we'll still be best friends. I'll never think of you any differently than I do now. I don't care whether you've decided to become a woman or if you're just getting held back. I'll never think of you as anything less than the best friend I've grown to love almost like a brother."

My friend turned back and wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled himself close to me. "I literally can't say it. It's like something's stopping me from telling you. I'm sure I'll be able to tell you when I'm ready."

I ran my hand through Kellan's light brown hair, pushing it towards the back of his head. "It's okay, I can wait."

"Thank you."

Kellan broke the embrace, got up, and walked back home.

_Light, what do you think he was trying to tell me?_ I asked.

Light thought for a moment. _He's either gay, bi, or Misa. Maybe Takada or Mikami. It's obvious he loves you or the ghost that's possessed him loves me. You don't hug a friend that close for that long after saying what you said. Odds are in the favor of possession. As you can guess, I'm fairly popular with both boys and girls._ Light laughed a little and shot me a flirtatious look. I swatted at the mental picture of him.

_Never give me that look ever again. You're thirty-six, you pedophile!_

_Sorry. I was making a point._

I let out an exasperated sigh.

_**Alright, it's come that time again. This story is nearly halfway through and I want to get your opinions on everything. What do you think of the OCs? Is it well executed? Do you even like the concept? I'd really love to know. Even negative reviews are appreciated. I thank you in advance for the review you may or may not post.**_

_**Also, please help us activists about the "cleansing" of . Basically, people are taking down any and all stories that "don't comply with the rules," meaning that they'll take down anything slightly iffy in content. What I mean to say is, they probably take down yaoi, lemon, smut, songfics, etc. This means that Gifted Aegis will probably be taken off once I post it and even my account could be terminated just for having its summary up there.**_

_**UNLESS enough people sign this petition to stop the cleanup of FFn. So I'll post the link below. Please remove the spaces and please sign:**_

_**www . change . org**__**  
**__**/petitions/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net**_

_**Thanks for your consideration and please help the Resistance!**_

_**And if any Critics United members are reading this, I'll have you know, that we authors already have a disclaimer system in place to ensure that no one reads things they don't want to read. We don't need your "cleansing," thank you. We were fine on our own and we'll be fine once you STOP!**_


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_**Sorry I haven't updated in a while I've been having some trouble with my desktop wi-fi. Anyhow, I'm really upset because Honi-chan is at camp and we can't role play instantly any more Good bye 100 emails a day, hello 5-6 letters a week. Anyhow, please enjoy the next chapter of Shattered, which I will be a lot less distracted to update for the next week. :D**_

It was after dinner that same day when Color appeared at my door, toting several cameras, a laptop, and what looked like a voice recorder. She was in sweat pants and a dark green cami top with her cat ears sweatshirt over it.

"Color-chan, what are you doing here?" I asked.

My friend let herself in. "My 'rents are gone for the night, so I was thinking of staying here."

"And the cameras?"

"My cousin Shayna runs a paranormal investigation firm up in Winchester. I told her about your possession and she sent some stuff so I can film you while Kira attacked you in your sleep. Then I'll sent the footage to her to get a professional opinion on what's going on."

"Wait, does she work at a coffee shop?"

She nodded. "But it's just a day job. Her girlfriend's dad runs the place."

_She's a lesbian!_ Light thought.

"Isn't gay marriage illegal in the UK?" I asked.

Color shrugged. "You don't need to be married to be in love. Let's not talk about Onee-chan's sexuality. It's kind of a rough topic. Anyway, she's going to help us figure out what's going on with you."

I nodded. "Sounds cool. I know where you can sleep-"

"Oh, I won't be sleeping. Someone needs to monitor the video feed and you'll be asleep. I have my laptop and all the camera footage will be saved on my laptop. I'm going to transfer all data onto a USB and mail it to Onee-chan. Then we'll Skype to see what she says. Anyway, I'll just set them up. You should get to bed, Khol-kun."

Color and I trudged up the stairs and into my room. I crawled into bed as she set up the cameras. She left for my mom's room to monitor me.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_**In other news, Honi-chan and I are thinking of turning our role play into a fan fic. It's a USUK/FrUK love triangle Hetalia High School AU, so if you don't like Hetalia, then this message is useless… We'll split the burden though, as it's upwards of 1,000 emails long and the first three "chapters" are 11 pages. And that's just in chatplay format. Hetalia fans: any comments?**_

_**Anyhow, this is the part where I ask for reviews so please please please please pleeeease! If you review, you will be hugged by any one of your favorite Death Note characters or Shattered OCs. And that includes Onee-chan and her girlfriend Leah! :D**_

_**Also: a big (albeit belated) thank you for everyone (including me) who contributed to the FFn blackout date, June 23. Way to stick it to the man, guys! Please continue to help the Resistance and show FFn whose boss and what happens when you deprive yours truly of her yaoi!**_


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_**Oh my freaking Kira, I'm sooooo sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER! Please forgive me! I went to camp for a long time and then school started…. I'm so sorry. I'll update up to chapter 25 today to make up for it. Sorry~ Please have mercy on my young, innocent soul.**_

I stood in the mall, ready for Kira. I'd gotten used to seeing him every night. I was at the TGI Friday's in one of the booths. Kira came over wearing a waitress' outfit, complete with a plate of nachos and two drinks. I snickered, he looked good in drag.

"What was that?" Kira asked, red eyes glaring.

"Sorry!" I blurted.

"You better be," he growled.

Kira placed the nachos and drinks on the table and sat across from me. He pulled the straw to his lips and sucked on it.

"Look, Khol, I know you know what I want and how to give it to me."

"No! I'm fifteen!"

"You idiot!" he slapped me across the face. "Light was a million times more obedient than you!"

He grabbed my shirt and tossed me onto the counter. I landed on the other side, my fingernails scraping against the smooth granite.

"I want control and the Death Note. You have both!"

My eyes widened. "No I don't! I'm sorry! I don't have it!"

Kira hopped the counter and placed a boot on my chest. "You have it. You know it's not with Near."

"Marta!"

"Very good, Khol. What do you think was powerful enough to send me here?"

"So, that was-"

"Yes Khol, a shred of the Death Note cover brought me back, but Light brought me to you. He saw a boy hiding behind the grave of his lover. He lead me to you. And you're useless."

He applied more pressure with his boot.

"Let me do it, Khol. It won't hurt. Just give it up. Give me control."

"Never!" I screamed.

"You leave me no choice."

His boot moved from my chest to kicking my nose. It bled profusely.

"I won't let you take over! I won't let you kill again!"

"Then I'll wait. You won't think this way for much longer."

I jolted up, almost hitting one of the cameras Color set up. I grabbed a tissue and used it to gather the blood. I walked from my room to Color's where she was sitting on my mom's bed with a laptop in front of her.

"Oh, you're awake! I just turned off the cameras," the otaku greeted.

"Why?"

Color yanked a flash drive out from the side of her laptop. She held it up, smiling.

"Because I already have what I need."

"What!?"

"Well, most of it was normal, but there was a lot of interesting activity for about ten minutes. Multiply that by six cameras and you get..."

"About one hour of footage," Light concluded.

"Correct as always, Yagami."

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"Do what?"

"Distinguish between me and Light."

"You guys sound alike, but I guess he sort of sounds like xJerry64x from 'Death Note: The Abridged Series' on YouTube." Color shrugged.

"Anyway, Color-chan, could I see it?"

"No. If I give this to you, Kira might tamper with it, but I can tell you what happened."

"What? I didn't even see the dream," Light commented.

"Alright, during those ten minutes, your body temperature rose, your nose started bleeding, and you were speaking in different voices."

"What do you think it means?"

Color shrugged. "I don't know, but I bet Onee-chan'll have something to say about it. I've watched enough paranormal shows to know that Kira must be gathering power from somewhere."

"From where?" I asked.

"Perhaps your pain."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Two days later, Color came to my house, toting a laptop. She was wearing her black Uggs and faded blue jeans, along with a white sweatshirt and a white collared button down.

"No time to talk, gotta log onto Skype," Color said in what seemed to be one breath.

She sat on the sofa in my living room and placed the laptop and webcam on the coffee table in front of her.

A window flashed on the screen:

"WSEMS would like to chat.

Accept Decline

"WSEMS?" I asked.

"Winchester Society for Exorcising Malicious Spirits. It's Onee-chan."

Color clicked the green accept button. Her cousin's picture flashed onto the screen. It was the same Shayna from the coffee shop in Winchester.

"Color-chan, I got the footage you sent me. Quite frankly I've never seen anything like it," Shayna greeted in her British accent.

"Nice to see you, too, Shayna" I greeted, earning a punch on the shoulder from Color.

"Anyway, I must say, you're an extraordinary case, Khol."

"You still remember my name?

"Of course. It's not everyday a serial murderer walks into your coffee shop."

"Anyway," Color interrupted, "What conclusion could you draw from the evidence?"

"It's hard to say. I'll play back some of the footage and I'll tell you what I think."

The footage was from a thermal camera. My entire body was white, with a little bit of red around the edges.

"As you may know, white is the hottest setting on the thermal imagery. You should literally be burning up right now. But you're not, you're alive. And it just gets more interesting."

She brought up some more footage. It showed me lying down and then, my nose started bleeding out of the blue.

"If you hear the audio portion, he says:

'Let me do it, Khol. It won't hurt. Just give it up. Give me control.'

'Never!'

'You leave me no choice.'"

"That's all well and good, but what does it mean?" Color asked.

Shayna looked straight at the camera. "I've never seen a case like this before. Quite frankly, I don't understand how you're still alive. Kira's fighting this hard to get power you're not giving him; how are you not a complete mess?" She thought for a second. "But, there is one theory, but trust me, it's crazy."

"Trust me, nothing would sound crazy after what I've been through."

"Okay, what if it's not one spirit we're working with, but two. If that's the case, spirit number two is working as a wall to keep Light from taking full control unless Khol gives him control. Light can't kill spirit number two because they each inhabit a different part of your mind. Light has your subconscious and that's why he attacks you while you're asleep. Spirit number two has your conscious mind and you'd hear him when you're awake. For a spirit to take full control, it needs to dominate both the conscious and subconscious."

"Actually, I'm Light and I have control over the conscious and Kira over the subconscious," Light corrected.

"So, you were two different personalities. That's funny. Seems like something Color-chan would tell me."

Light and I glared at Color, who put her hand behind her head in an embarrassed gesture and blushed.

"Heh heh. Funny story about that. I kinda forgot to mention Light's DID."

"Oh, I figured it was an L chessmaster thing. I wouldn't think you'd forget, especially not after your bout with-"

Color cut her cousin off. "Gotta go, bye."

She exited the video chat and slammed the laptop closed.

_Defensive much?_ I thought.

_You don't need to be a genius to know she's hiding something,_ Light concluded.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I drummed my fingers on the coffee table, wondering what to do next. Color was on the sofa, doing something on her laptop, bored to death. As I was about to channel surf, I heard three angry-sounding pounds on my door. Color stood behind me, slouching against the wall. I opened the door cautiously to find Kellan on the other end.

He was wearing his usual uniform of sweatpants and a short-sleeved shirt, both from Abercrombie and Fitch. Color raised an eyebrow. I could tell she hated that store. The strange thing was that he wore goggles that were tinted red.

"Hey, remember what I was telling you the other day?" he asked with I'm-trying-not-to-kill-you-right-now tone to his voice.

I nodded.

"I think I'm ready to tell you."

"Alright. Let's go up to my room."

I lead both Kellan and Color to my bedroom. Kellan took off the tinted goggles to reveal blood red eyes. Light's instincts took over my body, making me back away. Kellan's body blocked the door.

"Hello my Lord," Kellan muttered sarcastically.

"Mikami!" Color exclaimed.

"That's right, Yagami. Although I wouldn't expect you to have to resort to toying with young boys," Mikami said with a sneer.

"He's fifteen!"

"He's eleven years younger than you, Yagami."

Color curled up and tried to keep herself from laughing until she was blue in the face.

"If anyone's toying with young boys, it's you! I'm not hurting Khol!"

"You don't understand, this is just temporary until I can get rid of you."

"Mikami! Why?"

"Because I hate you! You killed me! You did nothing good for me! All you did was promise purification and give the weapon that would kill me in the end! You called me an idiot after I tried to follow your demands! I bled for you! I gave up half my life for you!"

Light's emotions made my eyes widen and soften up. "Teru."

"And to rub salt into the wounds you caused you're working with the man- no-the boy who killed me!"

Mikami punched me in the nose. Blood poured from where his fist made impact.

"Get away from him, Mikami!" Color yelled.

"Shut up, Nate River!"

"What!?" Light's reaction turned my eyes wild as I took a quick look at Color.

"You'd know, Yagami, if your ego would let you trade for the eyes you would have seen it. No other human could have such a bleached aura."

Mikami shoved me against the wall, my head hitting it hard. I tried to kick him, but he blocked my foot with his left hand and struck me again with his right, earning me a puffy lip. Color got up and ran towards Mikami and kicked him in the head. As Mikami was distracted with his head wound, I grabbed Color.

"I'm so sorry I kicked Kellan!" she whimpered.

"That thing is not Kellan!" I said, keeping Light under control.

"I have an idea, just play along."

Mikami turned back to me, more fire in his eyes.

"How dare you!"

Mikami lunged for her throat.

"Kellan! Would you really kill your best friend's girlfriend?"

Mikami's eyes started to fade to their usual stormy blue, Kellan was starting to take control again.

"Kellan, do you remember back in kindergarten when I couldn't pronounce my Ls so I had to call you Kewwan?" I asked.

Despite Mikami's iron grip on his conscious, Kellan nodded.

"And remember in first grade when your dad almost got that promotion and you would have had to move? I almost cried that night."

Kellan's voice was barely above a whisper, "Yes."

"And then in fourth grade when all your friends ditched you because you weren't good at talking to girls? I was the only one who stayed with you through it all."

His voice was a little stronger that time. "I remember."

"Kell-Kell, don't give in to this! You'll regret letting him kill the only one who was ever there for you!"

"Go away!" Kellan screamed, driving Mikami's dark spirit out of his body. His eyes, after turning his usual misty blue again, rolled back into his skull and he fainted.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I picked up Kellan bridal style and placed him on my bed.

"Come on, Color, Kellan will come down when he's ready," I said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the staircase.

"Khol, could I make some tea?" she asked.

I nodded as she went to the kitchen. Using the Kuerig, she put hot water in an "I Hate Mondays" mug. As the water poured, she raided the cabinets until she came across my mom's caffineated Earl Grey. She put half the sugar bowl in the tea and took out the bag out. She sat across from me on the island.

"Color. Why didn't you tell us you were possessed by Near?" Light asked aloud, keeping his cool way better than I could.

Color raised the mug to her lips. "Because I didn't think it would be important. It was only three months after all," she said into her tea.

"He's gone? Then what was Mikami talking about with auras and stuff like that?" I asked

Color put down the mug. "Well, according to Near, when a person had the shinigami eyes in life, after they possess people, those people, along with the spirits, have the ability to see auras. There's a code, too. Red is malevolence, blue is good, and yellow's blind happiness. White's emotionlessness and black is pure evil. You don't see a lot of black. I guess that's a good thing. Near's aura was a really bleached out blue. Mikami's was a very red plum color: mostly red, some blue, and a little black. My guess is Kira's would be blood red. Maybe even straying into blackish red category. Light, you're a pretty solid blue violet and Khol, your blue green. I was blue violet like Light until Near got to me. When he left, he only took what he could without hurting me. When you're possessed for that long, your auras become one. If you're separated, part of your aura becomes the other's and vice versa. This isn't important for you to know because this possession's a little different. You, Light, and Kira will make a pretty clean break."

"What about Kellan?" I asked.

"Kellan is color blind now. The colors he'll see are auras. It'll be the same if he ever has kids and when he dies if possesses someone, they'll see auras, too."

I nodded slowly.

"And there's one more thing you should know: I'm a Lawliet."

"What!?" Light asked aloud, surprise elevating the volume of his voice.

"Okay, so when I was a baby, I was adopted. Shortly after, my mother died and I never really knew her. I have one picture of her and that's it. So Near was sifting through my memories one day- it's cool how he does it- and he found the memory I have of my mother and he recognized her instantly. As it turns out, she and L were cousins. Since L's only surviving relatives at the start of career were my mother and his twin brother Beyond who went on a murder spree a few years before Light found the Death Note and then was killed by Kira, I'm the genetic heir to the L name."

Light made me run over to her and give her a hug. "That's great!"

"No, Kitsune-senpai, it's not! It means I can't ever be anything other than the next L. Great misfortune always befalls us Wammy's kids. Always."

"My poor baby."

"Uh, who's seme again?" Color asked.

"L, but that's beside the point."

"Yeah, that's a little strange. But I bet you'd be a crappy seme."

Light blushed. "No, he caught me by surprise, that's all!"

"Right," Color muttered sarcastically.

"Please return to normal conversation! I have no idea what you're talking about!" I protested.

_You probably don't want to,_ Light commented nonverbally.

"Sorry, Kitsune-senpai and I got a little carried away," Color apologized with her hand behind her head. "You know Light, if this whole 'I'll see L again in heaven' thing doesn't work out for you, there's always room for you in the yaoi corner."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

With that, Kellan walked into the room. He took a seat next to me on the table.

"Hey, Khol, could I talk to you in private?" he asked, beckoning me upstairs.

I nodded and he grabbed my wrist and brought me to my bedroom. I sat down on the bed, letting my feet dangle off the side of the bed. Kellan put his arms around me and placed his head on my shoulder.

"Khol, you might think the reason I hate Color so much was because I was Mikami, but you're wrong. I was jealous. You were dating who I considered the enemy. I decided to take a walk in the cemetery. I met Mikami's spirit. He told me about you, Light. Told me he loved you, but you'd only push him away for another man, L, who was the enemy. Mikami said he was devoted to you, Light and that he died trying to love you and he didn't want the same to happen to md. So I let him possess me. That day, it was him that kept me from telling you. He said to wait until he was gone, but he had his mind set on revenge when he took control."

Kellan let go of me and bent down, grabbing the red goggles. He fingered them and continues without looking up.

"I wouldn't let Mikami kill you, Khol, but he was very strong."

He put the glasses on my bedside table and looked back at me. "Khol Kremen, I'm gay and I love you," he said, returning to the bed pinning me down, and kissing me.

At that perfect moment, Color walked in. She just stood there, staring at the two of us for a bit.

Kellan and I straightened up. "Color-chan!" I exclaimed.

"Tori, I, uh-"

"Hey Light, you owe me five bucks!" she called.

"What?" we both asked at the same time.

"Light and I made a bet. Remember when you were asleep and I was filming you?"

"I'm not going to ask," Kellan put in.

"Any way, Light and I had a chat and, since we both knew Kellan was gay-"

"Was it really that obvious!?"

"-we made a bet. We both put five bucks on the table. I thought Kellan would be seme because, well, he would never degrade himself to uke status."

"And then I argued that, though he does seem to be the seme type, he'd probably end up like me, uke by inexperience. I assumed that Khol might pick up something from my experience," Light explained aloud.

"And in the end, much like the showdown at Yellow Box, I won."

"Seme, uke, what does that even mean?" Kellan asked.

"Well, in a relationship between two boys, the seme is on the top and the uke is on the bottom," the fox explained.

"When written as a couple or 'shipping,' it's always SemexUke. You guys would be KellanxKhol. There's also LxLight, MelloxMatt, NearxMello, so on and so fourth," the otaku continued.

The two of us nodded. "So you knew this would happen?" Kellan asked.

"Yup," Color and Light said simultaneously.

"I know an uke when I see one," the yaoi fangirl added.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Color had to leave due to the fact that her parents were actually home for once, so I had the house to myself with Kellan. We decided to spend it playing Call of Duty.

In between rounds, Kellan looked back at me. "Khol, remember when I was talking about Mikami before we were so rudely interrupted?"

I nodded.

"Well, I was going to say that I only really want two things in my life: For you to be happy and for of us to be together. If being with Tori makes you happy, I'm okay with the two of you being together. I'll be glad to accept the title of friend. I don't want to end up like Mikami."

I hugged him. "It's alright, I understand. Thanks for caring. Honestly I'm flattered, but I can't say I return your feelings."

"Khol, I thought you'd understand."

"I'm sorry, it's just, I don't know if I like you 'that way,' you know?"

He pinned me down and kissed me again. "It's okay, I can still love you."

I struggled to kick him off me before he got any ideas. I got back onto the sofa and grabbed the Wii remote as the game resumed.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The following day was a Monday and Kellan wasn't at school. I sat in English class, tapping my fingers on the desk, wondering why he wasn't there. Something hurt inside. Did he faint again? He seemed alright when we were kissing... But that was yesterday he might have just gotten sick since then. It just wouldn't sit right with me. I felt like there was a hole in my heart. I looked down at the carpet, listening closely to my own breathing and my heartbeat. In out, in out. I felt like there was a spotlight on me and outside of it was a void. Like I was the only thing in the world now that he was gone. It wasn't a free only, in fact it was quite lonely. I didn't even notice Color gently close my mouth.

"Khol-kun, you're going to catch flies. The alien mutant kind that barf acid," Color muttered.

I didn't respond.

"Khol-kun? Khol-kun?" she tried to call to me, but I didn't respond. I just kept a silent gaze foreword.

"Kitsune-senpai?" Color's voice was little above a whisper.

"What is it Color-chan?" Light asked, openly annoyed.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He's completely out of it."

Color nodded. "Should I just leave him alone."

"He'll be fine, I'm sure."

Color looked me in the eyes for a moment and then turned away. She saw something. I wondered what, but couldn't ask. It didn't feel right to ask. I shook my head and came back to reality.

"What was that?" I asked.

_I think Kira's getting stronger and so's his hold on your subconscious. There may come a time when I won't be there to protect you. You'll be under attack and you'll need to defend yourself,_ Light explained telepathically.

"I understand. I'll be ready for it, I promise."

Color grabbed my shoulder. "Khol-kun, I've been thinking and, well, I should have you know I don't return your feelings. Khol Kremen, I don't love you."

"What?"

"I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I think your a great guy and all, but you belong with the one you love. And it's not me, Khol-kun. I'm just a scapegoat for your true emotions. I'll happily help you and I feel we could be great friends, but you're not the one."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Khol-kun, despite what you told yourself, you don't love me. You never loved me. You won't allow yourself to realize that you love Kellan-kun."

Those words cut me like a knife. "What?"

"Well, I know this because Shayna explained to me that this place where you have your Kira dreams, your dreamscape, is where you feel most happy. If you loved me your dreamscape would be somewhere we went together, like Starbucks or my house, but you're always at the mall. I asked a few of your friends and they confirmed. You and Kellan-kun go there every Monday. Today you got worried about him when he wasn't in class even though he was most likely skipping."

I gawked at her for a second, wordlessly. My whole life suddenly made sense. "Does that mean..."

"You and Kellan-kun were meant to be? Yes!" the yaoi fangirl said, squeaking a little at the last word. "You guys are gonna be high school sweethearts, go through college together, get married because that's legal in the state of Massachusetts, and then adopt a kid! Oh, I totally support this shipping!" She flung her arms around my neck and gave me one Hell of a hug.

Light smiled. "_I hope your happily ever after is better than mine._"

Color grabbed my hands and squeezed them tight. "Kitsune-senpai, your happily ever after is still a work in progress. I swear on the Death Note, my honor as a Lawliet, and my copy of the LABB Murder Cases that I, Tori "Color Eternal Lawliet" Bastia will reunite our two star-crossed lovers," the yaoi fangirl gushed with stars in her eyes.

"Have you been reading romantic dramas again?" Light asked.

Color shook her head. "No, when I get excited I tend to phrase things dramatically. Especially when there's yaoi involved," she explained, removing her hands from mine and putting one on the back of her head.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I went home from school to find a note taped up to the scarlet door. I took it down and looked at it. The design in itself was fairly simple: a heart with butterfly wings, but the details of the wings were beautifully drawn. Every line, every vein was etched carefully with a skilled hand onto the paper in red. I was marveling at it until Light's voice snapped me out of my almost hypnotic attraction to the drawing.

_Khol, check to see if it's blood,_ he suggested.

_Huh?_

_Rub it with you fingers and lick them. See if it tastes like blood._

I nodded. I rubbed my hand gently along the intricate patterns of the delicate-looking wings. I stuck the two fingers in my mouth and sucked on them for a bit. A salty, coppery taste filled my mouth. It was faint but prominent, like sucking on old pennies.

"It's blood," I muttered, looked down at the artwork no longer with admiration, but with fear.

_It's just as I feared. That's the Kira symbol and it's done in blood... It's a warning, Khol. They're here. The Kiraists are here and they aren't happy. That blood's fresh, it can't be more than a few hours old._

With a quivering hand, I slid the key into the lock, wondering what secrets the scarlet door would reveal. As the door opened, my mind started to race as to what might be waiting for me, but nothing in the house seemed out of place. I scoped out every room, my room, my mom's, the basement, the attic, to see if anything was out of place. Everything seemed to be the same. They hadn't entered the house, just pinned something to the door. As I came to kitchen, I noticed that the light on the phone was flashing, altering me to the presence of a message. I pressed the "Play New Message" button as I was greeted by a low voice, like the devil himself. It sent shivers up my spine and even sent shots of fear and worry into Light's usually relaxed demeanor.

"Greetings Kremen, did you get my note? Be sure to take good care of it because your little friend here poured his blood, sweat and tears into it. That's right, he wasn't in school today, was he?" the voice purred, "Well, if you don't believe me, what if you heard him scream?"

"Aaaagh! Khol! Help me!" Kellan's voice screamed, seeming to be in agonizing pain. It was farther away from the phone than the other voice.

"If you want to see Mayix again, meet me at the Woodlawn Chapel. And don't bring any unnecessary friends, just my Lord, Kira, and we will exchange: Kira for Mayix. If you don't comply with these demands, Mayix dies. And I know you don't want that. You have until sundown," the voice threatened.

"Khol! Don't go, it's a trap!" Kellan's voice screamed.

This was followed by more screaming and more from the voice, coming from around the same place as Kellan. "Be quiet! I'd watch my mouth if I were you, kid!"

With this, the line went dead. Acting on sheer instinct, I ran down to my garage and straddled the seat on my bike.

_Khol, what are you doing?_ Light asked.

_I'm saving Kellan._

_Don't you think you should be thinking this through first?_

_If I don't get there by sunset, Kellan will be dead!_

_And if we don't think this through, the both of you could be dead!_

_If it were L's life on the line, would you risk your neck to save him?_

_You really love him, don't you?_

_I'm not sure, but if he died I'll never know._

Light nodded. _Alright, Khol. Good luck._

Though he never told me until later, he left my body at that moment. I could feel it. The sensation is difficult to explain. Getting Kira into my body was agonizing and painful, but having Light leave was different. It was like being covered by a cold mist that hangs over you. I shivered a little and sent my bike speeding out of the driveway. Woodlawn and the chapel were on the other side of town. Though Acton is small, it's still a tedious bike ride. What I wouldn't give to be old enough to drive!

_**Reviews? Comments? Rants about my awful posting habits? They're always appreciated!**_


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

_**Managed to get some time in on le desktop. Other people's fic advertising time!**_

_**If you're a fan of Hetalia I sencerily recommend you read the Vera Verse series by George deValier. It takes place during World War 2 and, so far, there are a few different fics for each couple: USUK (We'll Meet Again), GerIta (Auf Weirdersehen, Sweetheart), PruAus (Lily of the Lamplight), and Spamano (Bésame Mucho). There are a few more coming out and it's definitely worth your time. SO GOOD!**_

_**If you're not a fan of Hetalia or are just looking for something good to read in le Death Note fandom, I recommend reading Monsters Inside Us by Neon-Tinged-Disaster. The author is a friend of mine and her fics are really good. It has a similar plot to Shattered and, judging by the fact that you've read this far, I'm assuming you like it. Hope you like~**_

_**Without further babbling, please enjoy the next installment of Shattered.**_

Light found his way down the street to Color's residence, a green colonial, and paid no heed to the door. One of the advantages of being a ghost is having a similar consistency to mist. Using the ability to walk through walls, Light found himself in Color's living room looking at a very relaxed, very bored otaku listening to Korean pop music and singing along fairly loudly. She also had a can of whipped cream in her hand.

"Hey Color-chan, I need your help," Light muttered.

Color took her headphones off and lowered them so they hung around her neck.

"Come again?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Color-chan, Kellan was kidnapped by the Kiraists and now they demand Khol give them the notebook and Kira's spirit. Unfortunately, the kid is stubborn as a bull and won't even let me help him think it through. We also don't have the notebook."

"Let me guess," Color continued, throwing her head back and pouring the whipped topping into her mouth, "You need my expertise to locate the notebook."

The older boy nodded.

"Alright, let's think this through. What do we know?"

"The Kiraists are here for Khol and the notebook. We know that Kellan's been hurt by them, so if Kira gain control, they won't mess with his morality."

"Wait! Freeze frame! You left Kira with Khol!?"

"Well, I thought it would be okay for a little-"

"Kono bakka[1]! You're the only thing keeping Kira from taking  
complete control of Khol's body!"

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Speak in Japanese."

"I speak in Japanese?"

"Yeah, just now."

"Well, I can only assume it was from when I was possessed by Nate-chan. His preferred language is Japanese."

_**If you ever want fic recommendations because you're really frusterated trying to find a fic worth reading or you just want to know what some of my favorites are, just PM me. I don't mind. I actually like getting those little alerts that say people give two flying fucks about my story.**_

_**Speaking of little email alerts, feel free to drop a review as well. I love ALL me reviewers!**_

_**Japanese translations:**__****_

_**[1] You idiot!**_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

_**The next few chapters are really short, so I'll post the next three. Enjoy!**_

Meanwhile, I continued down to the chapel on my bike and skidded to a stop. The chapel parking lot was empty, as usual. I couldn't help but wonder if Kellan was right and it was a trap. Maybe I should turn back and think this through. I kicked myself, looking up at the sun. It was dangerously low in the sky, the faintest colors of sunset started to appear in the sky.

I turned the knob to enter the chapel. It was one room with two rows of mahogany pews and a grey stone aisle down the middle. At the end of this aisle was a raised platform with a pulpit in the dead center. Off to the side was an organ. As sunlight ran through the windows, the stained glass colored the light soaring through the window and dyed the floor. A fine layer of dust coated the contents of the chapel and danced in the light of the dying sun.

I took a step forward, noticing that behind the pulpit stood a man dressed in all white with his hair and eyes the same color as Kira's. He stood there with Kellan's neck in the crook of his elbow. Kellan himself was in handcuffs, fear shining in his eyes. A cut went up the visible part of his forearm, probably the source of the blood that made that design.

I continued forward, dragging my feet slowly. It pained me seeing Kellan like this, scared and almost completely pale. I was scared for him and I got the notion something awful would happen. My feet sped up and I ran to him.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Anyway, we need to find the Death Note and it's of the utmost importance that we do," Color said, starting to climb the staircase leading up to her bedroom. "Judging by the fact that Khol's not here, you left him alone with Kira. He's an idiot, so we have at least an hour before he notices, but Kira's way quicker. I'd say we have half an hour for him to take control. Supposedly, they have a way to get rid of Kira, but we both know that he'll retaliate as much as possible, so that brings us to my point. If we destroy the Death Note, it'll give our boys a fighting chance. And if we're there, it'll be impossible to lose!"

"And do you know where it is?" Light asked.

Color shook her head and smiled warmly at me. "But last time a Lawliet and a Yagami got together, we caught Higuchi. I have faith in our combined intellects and experiences, senpai."

Light nodded. "In Khol's dream, Kira said he was brought back via the cover of the Death Note. Assuming this is true, that means it must have been in Winchester. Since the Kiraists don't have it, they must be here for a reason."

"Perhaps it's closer than we think. Think about it, senpai. Marta sent Khol-kun a package. Perhaps we should inspect the package."

"Alright. Let's go check it out."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

I was nearing the middle of the aisle when the Kiraist's leader snapped his fingers. Two men, who had been hidden in the pew closest to me leaped out and grabbed me.

"Khol!" Kellan screamed at me.

"I thought I told you not to make a sound. If you don't comply with my demands, I'll kill him."

Kellan's eyes squeezed shut as he braced himself for impact. The man started to close his elbow around Kellan's throat.

_You know Khol, I can save him for you_**,**Kira coaxed.

"Wh-where's Light?" I asked frantically.

"_He abandoned you, Kremen. I'd never do that. Besides, only I'm strong enough to save your friend._"

I felt more hot pain spread through my body, not even waiting for my response. I had become a spectator to Kira's display, completely helpless to his will.

He started to laugh uncontrollably. He flicked his wrists, forcing them out of the men's grip.

"I'm surprised I have so many adoring fans. You're not so tough in the face of the REAL murderer, are you?"

"Kira. You return." The leader bowed on one knee, forcing Kellan down with him. "Milord-"

"Cease your farce, foolish boy. I know you never believed in me in the first place. Now, I want my notebook. Give it to me."

The leader straightened up. "I'm sorry lord. It was in the care of Marta Anacox, but has since disappeared."

"Where do you think it is now?"

The man shrugged. "We don't know."

"Fool. I'll find a way."

_**Only five more to go! What do you think will happen? I'd love to hear it!**_


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

_**Ready for another round of short chapters?**_

Color sailed in through the door to Khol's house and ran on winged feet up to his room, where she quickly located the box.

"Great, it's here," Color announced, smiling at the empty box.

"Alright, we have it, what now?" Light asked.

Color closed her eyes. "I'm a Kiraist and my cousin has been possessed by God. I'm in a hurry because I think that he needs the notebook. I need to hide it in a box. Where do I put it?" Her face fell blank. "Dammit, I don't know!" She stomped on the upturned box. The box collapsed under her foot.

"Wait a second, I think I heard something. Turn over the box."

Color flipped the box over to find a part of it completely unchanged. "It's a false bottom!" The otaku struggled to dig her fingers into the box and pried up the false bottom. Under it lay a little black notebook and a little white paper. She pulled out the paper first.

"'Use it well.'"

"We should burn it. End everything once and for all."

"Senpai, I have a plan, but we're going to need it."

The fox nodded. Color ran a hand through his hair, even though she couldn't actually touch him. "I know you're scared for Khol, but he'll be alright. I promise."

Light put his arms around her, or at least tried to. "Thank you."

"Come on, senpai. There are curses to be broken."

"Cemeteries of London?" he asked, jokingly, smiling for the first time that day.

"Oh! You're a Coldplayer! I thought those lyrics would be fitting."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Kellan looked up at me, fear shining in his brown eyes. "Kira, what happened to Khol?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

"He's fine, but don't plan on hearing from him again," Kira hissed. "From now on, I'm boss."

"What did you do to him!?" Kellan asked, his voice slightly cracking.

"He's gone to where I was. A spectator. Nothing more."

"I want my uke back! Go find someone else! Khol's too much of an idiot to understand it, but I'm not. I'm not scared of you. You're just a pansy without that little black notebook of yours. I watched the anime. You're a looser without that thing."

"Paladin, drop the boy. I'll deal with him myself."

"Yes Milord."

The leader, apparently Paladin, unhinged his arm around Kellan's neck. My seme rolled his head.

Kira took one step towards Kellan.

"Oh no, if you're fighting me, it won't count if you're in Khol's body. You're just leaching off of his strength, you coward."

A cooling sensation passed through my body as Kira left and materialized as a misty figure in front of us. "Alright, but I'm not going easy on you."

"Fine. Take me on. Prove to me that you're worth worshiping."

I saw Kellan cringe and kneel down as Kira entered his body. He breathed rapidly, fighting for air and to breathe.

"Khol! Go! Be safe! I'll deal with Kira somehow, j-just get out of here," he choked out in between choppy breaths.

I reached out and held my seme's hand. "Not without you. I love you, Kellan Mayix."

"If I die now, I'll die happy."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Kellan screeched as the door flew open.

"Freeze!" a familiar voice shouted.

Paladin and I both looked up to see Color dressed in her cat ears sweatshirt holding a familiar black notebook.

"Color-chan?" I asked out loud.

Light entered the church, the two standing back to back like an Angel's pose without the finger guns.

"Kira, I have what you want," she said, holding up the notebook. "Let Kellan go."

Kellan was panting on the floor, bruises covering his pale body. A dark mist exited his mouth slowly and materialized into Light's demonic lookalike. He was smiling sadistically. I ran for my seme and held him in my arms.

"Your friend's tough, Khol, most people would be dead by now. You included."

I picked up the boy as his eyes closed and his body went limp. I held his hand, his fingers intertwining with mine. Just that action was me telling him that everything was going to be alright. I think it worked.

Color kept her business face on, though she was suppressing a smile. She was good at keeping a pokerface when she needed to.

"Give me the notebook, Bastia."

"Nope," Color said with a childish smile.

"No?"

"What, don't speak English?" she taunted.

Kira growled. I assumed Color had a plan, but this was dangerous. I'd never seen Kira look this angry.

Color was smirking cockily. "You want the notebook? You pry it from my cold. Dead. Hands."

Kira's growl got louder and more demonic as he charged at Color.

"Senpai, now!" Color screamed.

Light flew out from beside her and stopped Kira the way one would stop a bull. He shoved his lookalike against the church wall and the two boys threw punch after punch at each other, each nimbly dodging the other's blows.

Seeing his Lord fighting his twin... alter-ego... thing, Paladin and his two cronies fled the chapel. So much for "loyal followers." Perhaps Kira did have a point, these guys were only in it for the money. No real Kira worshiper would leave while their Lord was in peril. Paladin was a scam artist, nothing more and nothing less.

Color grabbed me and we went out to the lawn outside of the chapel.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

I laid Kellan's limp body on the grass as Color and I talked.

"What's going to happen next?" I asked.

"As soon as the sun goes down, Hell's sentries will come for Kira. Senpai's just keeping him distracted until then. Now that Kellan-kun is safe, let's watch, it'll be really cool," Color exclaimed, jittering with excitement.

I nodded. Color motioned for me to follow her to the door as the two of us poked our heads into the church. The sight was amazing. As the design from the stained glass faded, a firey pit opened up underneath Kira. I watched, stunned as two scaly hands with long grotesque nails came from the flames and sucked him down into it. The spirit struggled, but the hands had a firm grip on him and even when he unleashed his power, they didn't even budge.

As soon as Kira and the hands were engulfed in the fire, the pit closed, leaving Light standing on one of the pews. Color ran over to Light and attempted to hug him in an awkward you-are-a-bunch-of-colored-mist sort of way.

"Senpai, we did it!"

Light held her so close that his arms passed through her body. Color smiled, happy that everything had gone exactly as planned. I ran over to the two of them, sharing in our victory over Kira and the embraces from an extremely happy Color.

"Maybe I am cut out for this Lawliet thing after all," she joked, smiling.

Light's hand attempted to ruffle her hair. "Color, if you had the fate of the world in your hands for a living, I don't think L could have a better first cousin."

Color's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Well, only if that's what you want", monotonous voice cut in. We whirled around to see a man with messy black hair and eyes to match. He had sharp, dark bags under his eyes that could have been done in eyeliner and was wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. He padded towards Color on bare feet and put his arms around her. "Tori Bastia, there's nothing stopping you from being whatever it is you want to be."

"It's okay, I think this is what I want to do."

"Just know that, whatever you do, I'll be behind you 100%."

"Thanks. You're the greatest, L!"

"THAT'S L!?" I cut in.

Light sighed. "You idiot. Didn't you read the manga?"

"I didn't pay attention very well."

Light chuckled.

"Any way, why are you here?" Color asked.

"To take Light to heaven or wherever it is we go."

Color laughed slightly and returned L's hug. "Out of all the people in the world, I'm glad you're my first cousin."

L lightly kissed Color on the cheek. "Out of all the people in the world, I'm glad you're my heir."

"Hello?" Light said, drawing attention to himself.

"Don't worry, Light-kun, you'll get yours." L smirked deviously.

He turned around, approaching Light and throwing his arms around the other boy's neck. Their faces were brought close and the two exchanged a long kiss. L's hands crept up into Light's honey-colored hair and started to mess it up. The two started two fade from the bottom up until they were gone completely and part of the night.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

_**Finally! The ending for Shattered! I promise y'all, I'll get Pieces up as soon as possible. And it won't take three months this time now that I use my computer more often.**_

Color smiled as she walked down the grey stone aisle to the door, the light of the full moon shining through the stained glass window and illuminating her like a technicolor ghost. I followed behind her, muttering to myself that it was all over. We were no longer under attack from the unseen. The otaku pulled open the gothic-style door. We both headed out to the lawn to find Kellan, still lying limp on the ground. Color tucked the notebook under her arm and took a lighter out of her pocket. She beckoned me behind the chapel where she lay down the Death Note and set it on fire. Pride and satisfaction shone in her eyes, which were the same color as L's in the firelight. We stood there, watching the billowing smoke for what felt like hours, never exchanging a glance. The fire burned itself out, leaving the deadly murder weapon nothing but a pile of ash. Color pocketed the lighter, hopped on her bike and rode off, leaving me alone with Kellan and my bike.

As I stood there holding Kellan in my arms, his head perked up weakly.

"Is... it over," he choked out, his voice little above a whisper.

"Don't worry Kellan, it's over," I comforted.

Kellan placed his head on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck before blacking out again.

I finally made it home, placing my seme on the couch and covering him with a fleece Patriots blanket. Before running up to my own bed, I kissed him lightly on the cheek. Poor kid. He was in this state because he was trying to protect me. I sighed, heading up to my room. I curled up in my bed, not needing to worry about nightmares or brace myself for Kira's blows for the first time in a long while. Relief showered over me like a cool waterfall. Over. It was over.

_**So, was it worth the wait? Was the final conclusion epic? Please review, I'd love to know how I did!**_

_**And now to thank my amazing reviewers:**_

_**Eric Cartman Forever**_

_**Exploading albino potato**_

_**Guest**_

_**That's it guy? Seriously? This is just a kick in the face. If you're a silent-until-it's-done reader like I am, please review. And please say more than just "It was good! Update!" (well, I can't really update now, but you know what I mean). So, yeah. Reviews would be lovely! I know I've gotten quite a few follows, but I'd definitely love one of dem fancy inner city review-like thingies. (Bonus points if you read that part in a Southern accent. If someone could tell me specifically where in the south that'd be from, much love and brownie points will come your way.)**_

_**The song I really put on repeat while writing this fic was "Violet Hill" by Coldplay. The plot was developed based on the scene I imagine during "Cemeteries of London", also by Coldplay. I'd love it if you gave them a listen!**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**~Colour-chan**_

_**P.S. What do you think will happen in le sequel?**_


End file.
